In the first teaser for the series below, the twisted author — a pen name for series author Daniel Handler, who executive-produces the series — strolls through a dimly lit set as the lights turn on to address “you,” the complete stranger who may or may not watch Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the story of the Baudelaire orphans, a harrowing tale that Snicket claims has made the streaming giant’s crew suffer from “low morale.”

“Please don’t make the same mistake that Netflix has,” he warns. “Look away before this dire tale is even filmed, and avoid the cruel whimsy and whimsical cruelty of what’s to come.”

But if you’d rather not look away, then mark your calendar for Friday, Jan. 13, when A Series of Unfortunate Events arrives on Netflix. The series also stars Neil Patrick Harris as the evil Count Olaf, Malina Weissman as Violet Baudelaire, and Louis Hynes as Klaus Baudelaire.